


Bare

by sugarplumsenpai



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Canon Compliant, M/M, canonverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-07
Updated: 2017-05-07
Packaged: 2018-10-29 04:47:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10846776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugarplumsenpai/pseuds/sugarplumsenpai
Summary: “What do you like most?” Eren asks one night, his chin resting on Levi’s chest, their legs tangled. “I want to know what you like.”In an attempt to come up with a reply Levi lets his fingers wander over Eren’s spine, as if the touch of smooth and slender muscles under warm skin would supply answers his mind can’t gather.





	Bare

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, how to explain this story? When I got inspired to write this, I certainly did not plan to write a oneshot this long. However (as it usually happens) the [initial idea](https://mongoose-bite.tumblr.com/post/126903580718/what-do-you-think-are-levis-ultimate-fetishes) developed a life of its own, its own will…and now here we are. Despite the premise this is not a "regular smut piece" or pwp. It is a story that deals with the emotional aftermath of letting someone into your heart, who manages to see through all your barriers and steal your breath. 
> 
> I hope you'll like it as much as I liked writing it. 
> 
> Heaps of thanks to [appleapple](http://archiveofourown.org/users/appleapple) for making me fall in love with characterisation, to [erenbaeger](http://archiveofourown.org/users/erenbaeger) for all the encouragement, to [mongoose_bite](http://archiveofourown.org/users/mongoose_bite) for the inspiration, and to [raindrop_rouge](http://archiveofourown.org/users/raindrop_rouge/pseuds/raindrop_rouge) for beta. Without her added commas this story wouldn't make any sense. Thank you so much! <3

The first time Levi is with Eren it feels strangely wrong and yet so right at the same time.

Levi hasn't planned it. Certainly never really thought it would ever happen, not if he had a say in this, anyway. And yet, in the end, he finds himself unable to refuse.

To put the blame on Eren though would be wrong and, as Levi well knows, unjust.

Eren is so young and beautiful. Even in his twenties he still is so much younger than Levi, and it should not feel this...good.

Ah, Levi pictured it. Despised himself for it. Still does. Sometimes, late at night when sleep wouldn't come to him, he tried not to imagine how Eren would be like. How he would feel like. How he would look like. Sound like, smell like. What he would taste like.

He never got far in his pondering, mostly simply looked at his fantasy. Even in there he didn’t dare to act on anything, cutting the images off as quickly as he could, opting rather for another cleaning night than to indulge in his distorted dreams.

It wasn’t that Eren didn’t want him. Levi is no fool. He can see how Eren looks at him with that certain smile of his and his eyes, oh these eyes. Levi has tried to look away. And failed.

It wasn't much of a decision when it did happen. There'd been that look in Eren’s eyes, a sudden realization, a knowing, and hence a reason to push forward. Between the two of them, Eren has always been the more courageous one. So when he smiled that inviting smile and stepped closer, Levi simply was too surprised to say no. He was too surprised to say anything.

Now that Eren lowers his head, looking straight into Levi’s eyes for allowance or a refusal, Levi’s mind, for the first time, is empty of any other thought than _yes_. Please, yes.

It's odd. So new. It should be embarrassing for a man his age to be this flustered. Heat rises up in his chest, makes him flush. His skin appears to be too tight, his chest too constricting for his frantically beating heart which won't listen to his order to calm down.

He should be more experienced than this too. Instead, he stumbles, fights his way through his first kiss, their second, and the third, going by instinct and half-wondering why Eren doesn’t lose interest when their teeth click against each other yet again. It should be humiliating. Eren only urges forward, sighs. Clings onto Levi for dear life as they fill the silence around them with their shared, ragged breaths.

When they undress each other, Levi tries not to show how much his hands want to tremble. Eren looks at him through a fan of eyelashes, green irises wide and blackened with lust, with want, and need, and Levi swallows at the tenderness directed at him. He can feel it in Eren’s touches. His hands are gentle and his palms smooth as they map his chest, eyes flicking up to Levi’s again to reassure himself this is okay. That he’s allowed to do this. It's almost too sweet, too hesitant, too caring. Levi’s heart wants to melt and burst.

“How…” Eren starts and trails off, ears red, cheeks burning, hands fumbling in a rare moment of shyness. He’s the one who made the first move. The one who has drawn Levi in for their kiss, the first to daringly slip a hand under the cotton fabric of a shirt. The first to open his mouth to let a tongue glide over lips. Now Eren's gaze is restless with worry, and Levi has no response.

“We don't have to,” Levi says, hoping and fearing alike that Eren would change his mind. He searches Eren’s face for an answer, holding the pleading gaze that speaks volumes of how Eren does so not want to stop.

His whole body says so too, vibrating under every touch. It's writhing, arching up into the brush of Levi’s fingertips, reacting to every single movement of Levi’s eyes. Yearning.

Exquisit.

Levi is not sure how to react to the part of Eren that blatantly screams: _"Take me. Take me and do whatever you want."_

Because, fuck, he is so not prepared for this. Yet Eren wriggles underneath him, almost anxious now, beginning to lose confidence. So Levi reaches out to soothingly run his fingertips over Eren’s bottom lip, his chin, and down his throat until he finds a pulse. It's so warm, fluttering under his touch, and gaining speed right before he bends down for another kiss.

Eren responds with blunt enthusiasm, wraps his arms around Levi to draw him closer, followed by his legs that fold around Levi's hips until they are flush pressed against each other, only separated by their skin. Eren gasps. Desperate now.

“Levi, Levi, please.”

Levi nods, standing to search his quarters for something they can use. There’s some shaving cream in the bathroom, but nothing slippery, and he silently curses himself for it. He finally finds a small flask of oil after all and by the time he is back in his bedroom, Eren has sat up. He now rests on the edge of the bed, expectantly looking up at Levi.

He has seized the time to neatly fold their clothes and put them on a chair. Levi would smile at the thoughtfulness if Eren wouldn’t look that gorgeous and vulnerable alike, if his teeth weren’t worrying on his bottom lip, or if his fingers weren't twiddling on his lap betraying his outer calm. It hurts to see him like this, and Levi wants to make it go away, even if he is so new to this too and—apart from some vague idea—has actually no clue what the fuck he’s supposed to do. Yet taking care of Eren, that he can do.

He doesn't ask Eren if he’s done this before. It's obvious he hasn’t either. It would only spur on any insecurity already simmering underneath.

All Levi can do is hope he’ll do everything right.

“Levi?”

The raw desire in Eren’s voice pushes him forward, making him able to move again and take control. “Lay down.”

Eren complies, sliding back on the bed, his hands not knowing where they want to be, though boldly not even trying to cover anything up. He lies on Levi’s sheets like on a silver plate, and the open display of trust pierces right through Levi’s chest.

With a quiet pop he opens the bottle of oil to slick his fingers. “Tell me if it’s uncomfortable.”

Eren nods, and as Levi eases his legs open with a nudge, Eren instantly goes along with him although he flushes all the way down to his thighs, breath speeding up.

So cute, Levi thinks, a thought that gets cut off by Eren’s moan when a finger circles his entrance, not even penetrating yet, just feeling around. Proceeding Levi nudges on, presses in first with a fingertip, then up to his first knuckle before he moves back out to push in again.

Eren’s fingers curl in the bed sheets, dig into the mattress, and his moans beg Levi to continue, so he does. Eren clenches around his finger, and Levi thrives in what he sees, Eren twisting and trying to lay still. Cock hard, red, and glistening, head thrown back to expose his throat, yet shooting back instantly to look, to see as much as he can with blinking eyes.

“More?” Levi asks.

Eren beams, nods, and eagerly pushes further into Levi’s touch.

Soon a first finger is fully inside of him, and a second one follows under Eren’s enthused vocal encouragements until he doesn't seem to have any patience left.

“Levi, please. Oh, please!”

Eren looks strange when Levi pulls out, his entrance clenching around nothing but thin air. Eren wails, blindly grabs for Levi and starts to beg and sob. Strong, he’s so strong, and the first thought that shoots through Levi’s head is at least he can take that on, and then some.

Levi catches flailing wrists, digging them into the mattress, so Eren won't hurt himself in the end. “I'm here, Eren. I've got you.”

Eren whimpers, hips thrusting upwards, fighting even now. “Levi, please. Fuck me, Ineedyousomuchplease!”

I knew you would be like this, Levi thinks. Knew you'd be loud and passionate and just too much. Perfect. So good to me. It makes me wonder how you can be real. How you can want me. Me of all people. How you can't choose anyone more appropriate or deserving.  

But Eren looks at him again, and there’s no way of backing out now without hurting him more than any physical injury could ever do. Levi squeezes Eren’s hands and pushes into him.

It’s hot, so hot. And so tight. Eren is screaming under him. His hands finally know what they want to do, sneak out of Levi's grip to grasp him by the shoulders. They pull him closer, oh god, so much closer and closer, deeper into Eren, and the friction is too much.

“Fuck, Eren, I need more oil.”

“Ah!”

“I’m sorry.”

Pulling out and leaving him empty once more, Levi launches for the bottle, hands slippery already and fingers fumbling for what must be the first time in his life while Eren under him continues to writhe and push his hips up into the void air.

“Shh, I've got you Eren. I've got you. I’m here. One moment.”

Soon he’s back in again—yes, much better now—and their fight begins anew. Eren's hands are grabbing, struggling to be everywhere at once until they fasten around Levi's waist and pull him in all the way. He’ll probably hurt like hell afterwards, but right now Levi knows Eren doesn't care about any aftermath. Instead he looks up at Levi with gleaming eyes, already forgotten tears glistening on his eyelashes, and smiles again, beams, seems to look right into him, and Levi shudders, grits his teeth, forces himself to look back, to not close his eyes, because it's all too much and if he’s going to hell for this, he might at least enjoy it.

Knew you’d be like this, he thinks once more and then he moves his hips once, twice. Eren yells, eyes losing focus, and comes in stripes of white, whimpering, and clenching around Levi in a way that sends him over the edge as well with only a few more thrusts. He hasn't even touched Eren yet.

Wordlessly he stands up to fetch a dampened towel to clean them up. Eren still smiles, glows, eyes hazy, body limb. Still so beautiful.

Eren stays that night. He stays the night after that too.

Both times Levi can’t help but think this is the last time. Eren would get tired of it, tired of him, lose interest in the novelty of it all.

Eren doesn't.

He comes back every night, hope shining bright on his features, gaining confidence with every day. And how could Levi ever refuse when Eren looks at him like this.

Levi finds out how Eren absolutely loses it when he gets pinned into the mattress while Levi fucks him slowly and deeply. He learns Eren has a spot on his neck that makes his eyes roll back when Levi touches it, fondles it, or sucks on it. He finds out how Eren tastes like, everywhere.

Of course Eren wants to return the gesture immediately. It's endearing, sweet, and when Eren’s teeth graze ever so slightly over his cockhead, Levi has to close his eyes to not come right on the spot. Eren notices and does it again. He’s even humming.

Levi doesn’t stand a chance.

Eren begins to ask questions about Levi’s scars. The one on his upper arm he knows about already. His brow furrows darkly before he bends down to kiss it, and a knot twists in Levi's chest, choking him. Eren’s fingers glide over the jagged scar on Levi's neck. Goosebumps rise on Levi’s chest at the tender touch that makes him hard against his will.

He tells Eren enough. Tells he got the scar when he was young and made a mistake in the Underground. It was close, yes. Eren can see it himself, but after scowling at an unknown enemy that isn't even in this room, Eren bends down to kiss this scar too.

Tomorrow, Levi thinks, rolling them over to make Eren forget. After tonight he won't come back.

He does come back.

Days fade into weeks, turn into months. Eren always comes back.

They find out sex is odd with a gassy stomach, and after sharing a startled stare, Eren bursts into giggles so heavy and uncontrolled that they turn into full-throated belly-laughter. It’s contagious, and the fact they are stark naked and practically wrapped around each other, their softening cocks slapping against each other, doesn’t help one bit. Levi's lips twitch, and one moment later he joins Eren in his laughter, wheezes in his untrained way until he’s got a stitch and burning lungs. As gentle hands course through his hair and over his back to hold him close against a shaking chest, Levi presses his face against Eren’s neck, silently thanking whoever wants to listen that Eren has this effect on him.

Eren hugs Levi in return, kisses him, chuckling into his mouth, and draws the blanket back over the both of them, pulling Levi against his heart for sleep.

Levi wakes up in the middle of the night. Instead of cleaning, what he'd usually do in a sleepless moment like this, he carefully turns around in Eren’s arms to takes in Eren’s sleeping face until fatigue and dreams overwhelm him after all. His last fleeting thought before he slips away is that Eren’s hand is so warm, and his fingers, which even in his sleep seem to recognise Levi and possessively curl around his own, are so graceful and kind.

One day Eren looks at him in the middle of sex, eyes lust-clouded, yet determined. “You first.”

No, Levi wants to say, but Eren smiles, reaches for Levi's hips and decisively urges him closer. Deeper.

Yes, his gaze insist, and Levi closes his eyes as he shakes his head.

No. You.

“Yes,” Eren says, brushing over Levi’s cheekbones until he opens his eyes again. “I’ve got you. Let go for me.”

Levi shudders.

“Levi,” Eren says, solemn and clear, gaze intense. “I love you.”

And Levi loses himself. He stares back into hopeful, honest green that’s dotted with golden stars, and comes, falls, shatters, barely noticing how Eren follows him with a choked sigh that sounds like his name.

Afterwards they lay tangled in bed, their feet and legs intertwining. The hairs on Eren's sweat-damp skin tickle Levi, but he doesn't mind. He holds Eren close, draws small circles on his nape, while Eren hums contentedly, nuzzles into his chest, and mumbles the words once more right before his breath becomes even and deep.

Levi sleeps the night through.

When he wakes up, he almost isn’t startled anymore to find Eren right next to him, sleepy eyes already searching for his as he snuggles closer for a shared warmth which Levi fears he will never get enough of. And for this moment he allows himself to believe Eren truly wants to stay. Whatever his reasons are.

“I want to fuck you too,” Eren proclaims one day. “I want you to feel it too.”

Levi’s skin prickles at the boldness, the seriousness in Eren’s voice. He nods. “Okay.”

It’s not that he only wants it the other way. They simply never tried it, but there it is, out in the open now, and Levi is curious.

Despite his eagerness, Eren is so hesitant, even after all their time together, and yet determined to do everything right. It reminds Levi of their first time together, though it's so different.

“Eren. I won't break,” Levi says, close to frustration.

Eren nods, swallows, and pushes in in a way that makes Levi gasp. Oh. So this is how it feels like.

When he blinks his eyes open, Eren is already looking back, a question in his eyes.

“Again,” Levi affirms, feeling the heat rise in his chest at the request.

Eren's responsive smile is beautiful. So very, very beautiful. Levi can't turn his eyes away and knows he is besotted beyond hope.

“I love you.” There it is again.

Levi wants to cover his stinging eyes, his burning ears, sink into the soft mattress and pull the thick blanket over his head, but he’s stripped and bare, has got nowhere to hide. Eren is buried deep inside of him, brushing over that spot, and Levi _whimpers_ , reaches out. At least they can kiss this way. Eren meets him with an open mouth and unhurried strokes of his tongue and his hips that make Levi dizzy, on their best way to drive him insane.

“Levi,” Eren mumbles against his lips. “You feel so good. I love you so much.”

Clinging on to the last string of control he can get hold of, Levi kisses Eren back, letting his knuckles trace the spot in Eren’s neck.

Eren finally shuts up. At least for now.

Later at night, Levi lays awake again, wondering why the fuck he can't just say it back.

Eren lies in his arms, the nape of his neck directly under Levi’s nose, and Levi kisses it, cautiously snuggling closer to not wake him up, and cursing himself for being this inapt.

How is it possible to be intimidated by three words that should be coming easily. They're all there already anyway, so what would it matter to say them out loud.

They lay on his tongue when Eren wakes up in the morning, eyes slumberous and hair an adorable mess. They are there when Eren prepares breakfast for the both of them while Levi takes care of their tea. They are flooding his chest when they come home in the evening, feet tired, shoulders stiff, and limbs aching, and yet one look is enough to make it not too bad anymore. Sometimes Eren would undress Levi’s boots, harness, and the bandages around his feet to massage them with warm and skillful hands while they sit down on the couch, going through some paperwork.

Eren doesn't openly show his affection out there, but in here, in their home—and it is theirs now, as far as Levi is concerned—he seems to try to catch up on what he missed during the day.

They take a bath together, and Eren wordlessly lets Levi lean against his broad chest in the piping hot water. He tells about his day whilst washing Levi’s hair with long, caring fingers until Levi dozes off under the caress and the gentle fall and rise of Eren’s breathing, only to wake up to a thoughtful brush of lips against his shoulder and a low, velvety voice whispering the water is getting cold. It truly is, and as they step out of the tub, Levi wonders how long Eren has let him sleep like this.

In return he rubs Eren dry, wrapping the towel tightly around his arms and shoulders until Eren chuckles and kisses his nose. The only way Levi knows how to respond to this is to smooth out Eren’s wild hair that sticks out in irregular, damp spikes.

Never has anyone been this kind to him. Never has anyone made him feel this loved, this safe. So worthy. And yet the words stay stuck in his throat as if admitting to them would mean destroying everything they have, everything he's found. He knows he's a coward for this, yet every time he tries he fails.

“What do you like most?” Eren asks one night later, his chin resting on Levi’s chest, their legs tangled again.

“Mh?”

Eren shrugs. “I want to know what you like.”

In an attempt to come up with a reply Levi, lets his fingers wander over Eren’s spine, as if the touch of smooth and slender muscles hidden under warm skin would supply answers his mind can’t find.

“Because, you know…you know what I like and it’s really, really good.” He grins, and Levi smiles back.

He's in so deep, lost in this amazing man, and he knows it.

“Tell me.” Eren begins to trace feathery lines on his naked stomach while his eyes hold Levi firmly in place. “Do you like this for example?” He brushes further over his ribs, then over a nipple, and Levi flinches. Ticklish.

“Or do you like it more when I kiss you?” Lips trail over his shoulder before teeth come out to bite gently, leaving Levi’s skin cold and longing for more.

“It's all good,” Levi says. 

“No.”

Levi blinks. “No?”

“No. It’s like with my neck. I love that.”

As though to prove Eren’s point Levi runs his knuckles over said spot.

Eren grins with a shiver as enticing goosebumps rise under the touch. “See? Not all as good as that.”

“Mh.”

“So what do you like?” 

“This.”

“Not good enough. I’m asking about _you_.”

“You already know what I like, so why do you ask?”

“Because I want to hear it.” Eren frowns. “You do know what you like though, don't you?”

Levi remains silent, trying to catch a patch of silvery moonlight on Eren’s collarbone with a mirroring frown of his own.

“I might do it, you know?” Eren grins again, inviting and tempting, bottom lip caught between his teeth, eyes twinkling, as he pushes himself up until their faces are on one level.

I like taking care of you, is what Levi wants to say as he stares up. It's true, but they both know it's not what Eren wants to hear.

Levi swallows drily.

“Do you like to fuck me?” Eren asks. 

“Yes,” he admits.

“Hm. Do you like to be fucked by me too?”

This is embarrassing. “Yes,” he says firmly, refusing, downright refusing, to squirm and instead reaching out to play with a strand of Eren’s hair. It’s much more bristly than it looks like, and after their day in the forest it smells like pine trees, earth, and sun. Levi thinks it fits Eren.

“Which do you Iike more?”

“Both,” Levi says.

“Hm.”

An idea takes shape in Eren’s mind, Levi can tell. It’s obvious in the smile that spreads on his features. The bewitching smile that so many months ago has brought them here in the first place. Levi knows he is doomed, even before Eren bends down to kiss his chest, the spot right over Levi’s heart, still holding his gaze. And if that wasn’t enough to take Levi apart already, Eren begins to talk.

“You are so kind. You are so wonderful.”

A sudden blush flares on Levi’s skin. Eren is straddling him, and there’s nowhere to look at but honest, dark green smouldering and that wicked, knowing smile which seems to brighten with every word, every passing second, every one of Levi’s betraying reactions.

I want to live inside you, shoots through his head. I want to curl up inside you and sleep, nestle up against your gorgeous heart and simply stay there. And the look you're giving me right now only makes me wish to do so even more. What did I do right to deserve this?

I never wanted to feel like this for someone. Never…

“I love how you look at me,” Eren continues. “You don’t have to say it, you know. I see it.”

There’s no way Levi will survive this without scorching first. Eren’s words roll over him, caress him everywhere and the deep, silky voice turns his guts into melting heat. He wants so much to move, to flip them over and fuck Eren into the mattress, to make him shut up, yet somehow he wants to hold back just as much.

More. He wants to hear more.

And Eren isn’t done yet.

“Do you even know how much I’d love to give you what you’d ask for? What I’d do to make you happy in return? What I’d give for you to tell me what you like, even though I know?” To prove his words Eren’s fingers trace Levi’s cheekbones and his jaw before running down his throat.

Levi has to close his eyes for a moment.

“Tell me what you want,” Eren begs. Pleads. “Please.”

Pulse hammering, Levi realises to his own horror he wants to give in. His silly pride is all he has left anyhow, and if Eren wants to have it along with everything else, well, he’ll give it gladly.

Allowing himself a moment to brace himself, Levi makes his decision. “I want to fuck you.” He fastens his hands around Eren’s waist, thumbs brushing over sensitive skin over hipbones. “Like this.”

Eren’s smile widens even more, radiates, and Levi can’t stand it any longer, sits up to kiss it, to taste it, to make it his own.

“Yes,” Eren breathes, laughs against Levi’s lips, and kisses back, pulling Levi as close as their skin allows it and closer still. “Yes!”

They are both hard already, Eren pressing against Levi’s thigh and his own cock trapped in between their stomachs.

“Let me do it,” Eren says, opening the drawer to produce the oil. “I want you to watch. I want to be good to you.”

Levi nods. You are, he tries to say as Eren prepares them both, hands competent and expression so gorgeous that it aches. You always are. Please, go on. Tell me more. Talk to me. I want to hear you. Want to lose myself in you. Don’t you dare stop now.

It is absolutely terrifying, and yet he sees in Eren’s eyes how much he enjoys this, so Levi tries again. “Eren,” he manages as Eren sinks down on him. “Yes.”

Tight heat envelops him, slowly pulls him in all the way, and not once Eren breaks their eye contact.

“Beautiful,” Eren whispers.

Barely resisting the urge to cover his face, Levi shudders, snapping up his hips to make Eren do so too. “More. Don’t stop.”

“Mm, I love your voice,” comes instantly. “So deep and warm. It’s like a blanket, and when you say my name it does things to me.”

“Eren…” Levi rasps, wrapping his hand around Eren as he starts to pump. He is so fucking close already, and he will be damned if he doesn’t take Eren with him.

“Ah! Yes, like that. And…mh…I love your eyes. When you frown they darken like storm clouds, and when you look at me it’s like the sun comes out. Sometimes I still can’t believe you want me like this, you are so wonderful, so kind and loving and I—oh fuck…there, yes, right there!”

Eren breaks off, still looking down at him, eyes blown-wide and so open to read, smiles, and comes hot and hard in Levi’s hand. All Levi can do is stare back into this too intense green and groan as his own relief bursts through him while he pulls Eren into a deep kiss.

They stay silent for a while afterwards, tangled up in each other once more, sticky and exhausted as they are and with neither of them making any effort to move and loosen their embrace. Levi can feel Eren smile lazily against his chest even before he lifts his head to blink up at him.

“Thank you.”

Levi frowns, brushing a strand of Eren's sweaty fringe out of his eyes. “Mm.”

Eren chuckles, the carefree sound shaking Levi as well. He welcomes it, breathing it all in, until he’s drunk on it. Letting his hand course through the bristly hair in Eren’s neck, he just looks back.

“This is what I meant,” Eren murmurs and mercifully saves Levi from having to reply by nuzzling into the crook of his neck.

Their shared time continues. Every now and then Eren would start anew, would ask questions that sometimes don’t even make sense to Levi. It’s not only during sex, but during the daytime as well.

During dinner: “Do you prefer the Earl Grey or the Assam?”

At night: “Would you like to be the big or the small spoon today?”

In the morning: “The Assam again? Or rather Earl Grey?”

At night again: “Tell me what you want.” And after a brief and almost playful struggle: “No, not for me. For yourself.”

The stream of questions is endless, but never too intrusive, and Levi answers as good as he can. Eren seems to cautiously file every reply, most of it he already must have guessed, going by his content smile and the satisfied twinkle in his eyes. Levi loses some of his reluctance.

Answering becomes more and more easy over the weeks, months. Sometimes, however, it’s still just as fucking hard as it was the first time. Levi would twist and writhe under Eren’s fond request, the words clumsy and faltering on their way out. Eren is patient and waits, calmly holding out for Levi to try anew, and Levi wonders idly if Eren will ever cease to surprise him. Probably not.

He still hasn’t said the words that burn in his chest. Eren keeps on looking at him knowingly, insisting Levi doesn’t have to say anything at all. Levi believes him, but it isn’t fair. He knows it isn’t. He trusts Eren with everything else, so why not with this too. Levi doesn’t want to miss out on anything, wants to seize every second of it all. He needs Eren to know—to really know, to _hear_ it.

He waits until morning. The early summer sun blazes through the windows of their bedroom, filters through the starch-white curtains, and illuminates Eren’s hair from behind in its clear light. Eren stirs, causing tiny particles of dust to float through the air and glitter in the beam only to vanish into invisibility outside of it. He is awake and just about to open his eyes.

Levi can tell by now.

Willing his voice to stay firm and steady, he breathes in and finally lets go of his secret, that last, guarded secret that isn’t really a mystery any longer, hasn’t been for a while.

Green eyes fly open, clear and bright, crinkle softly around the edges before a hand emerges from under the blanket to brush over Levi’s cheekbone with gentle fingertips, warm from lingering slumber and body heat.

“Good,” Eren simply says, searching for Levi’s hand to press it against his lips with a smile and a grateful squeeze. “Good.”

Levi smiles back and scuttles closer to let his head rest on Eren’s chest. Simply because he can and because he wants to. An arm wraps around his back to hug him tight, and Levi hums, basking in the protecting embrace and the wonderful feeling of morning laziness and peaceful silence. In the feeling of a nose pressing into his hair on the top of his head and the powerful sound of a beating heart against his ear.

They should get up soon. But for now nothing will keep him from enjoying this moment.

It’s Sunday anyway, and the world can wait. Just this once.

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is loved. <3  
> [My tumblr.](sugarplum-senpai.tumblr.com)


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